About This Lesson
This lesson introduces students to the principles of just war theory, the basis of international agreements such as the Geneva Conventions that regulate the conduct of nations in wartime. The lesson asks students to consider the six principles of jus ad bellum, or what makes a war just, as applied to World War II. Students read Roosevelt’s Joint Address to Congress Leading to a Declaration ofWar Against Japan (the“day that will live in infamy” speech) in order to assess whether
or not Roosevelt spelled out the case for a just war.
